Churches congregate online for Easter Sunday services

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Many churches have gotten creative in order to celebrate Easter with their congregation without actually getting together. Those religious leaders have turned to the internet to help celebrate the holy day.

Reverend Dr. Janet Parker said her church is using Zoom and Facebook Live to spread the good news of the Easter season. She’s the interim senior minister at the First Congregational UCC. She said the Central Pacific Conference of Churches in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho got together to host a joint Easter Sunday service. Different ministers pre-recorded segments and hosted Facebook Live watch parties to put it all together.

Parker said the internet has provided a wide reach, with some people watching their service from other parts of the country.

“Different churches have been managing it differently. We felt strongly about honoring the stay-at-home order,” said Parker. “We feel like the first charge of a Christian, or any faithful person, anyone who cares about people and who wants to do the right thing, is to protect life. So, we wanted to honor that. Even though we were sad that we couldn’t gather together, we feel we are all doing our part to get through this together.”

For members struggling with the technology, the Reverend said the church has tried to coach them through getting their computers or cameras working.

The church will continue to host services online every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. if you’d like to join in.